2019 TOYOTA RAV4 Complaints

The engine on my Rav4 suddenly stopped without any notification while I was driving it on the freeway. I could have been severely injured from the risk of being rear ended by vehicles behind me. I have experienced this twice now, and both times, I have been on a busy highway in the middle of rush hour traffic. While driving, the engine would start sputtering and the vehicle will jolt and shake, eventually causing a warning message to appear that says power steering low, engine shutting off, place vehicle in Park. Then, when I turn the engine off, and try to restart it, it would flash a message that read Not ready to drive. After towing the vehicle to a service department, the vehicle would start up like normal, and the techs could not get vehicle to duplicate the issue. No codes would come up when they place it on a scanner, either. I researched the issue online, and it appears I am not the only one who has experienced this issue with the Rav4. Please reference https://www.rav4world.com/threads/engine-stopped-steering-power-low.323916/ This incident happened twice, once on 3/6 and again on 3/8. I thought the issue was fixed after having my vehicle towed on 3/6 to Freeman Toyota Service where they determined the issue was due to a recall on the fuel pump. However, the incident occurred again on 3/8, and I had to have the vehicle towed as the engine shut off while I was driving on the freeway blocking one lane of traffic on the interchange that connects one freeway to another. I was very fearful of other vehicles crashing into me as some of them were squeezing by between my vehicle and the retaining wall to get around me. It took the wrecker over an hour to get to me due to high traffic time. I have uploaded 2 tow bills I had to pay, and the service invoice for the recall work done. My vehicle is currently at another Toyota Service department where they are telling me they are unable to duplicate the issue.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was water leaking into the driver's side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer; however, the failure could not be duplicated, and the vehicle was not repaired. The contact then stated that the failure persisted, and he noticed the water was leaking from the roof rack and had entered the air bag compartment area. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the water was entering through the headliner; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 28,000.

Hatch hinge cracking, bending, and breaking causing hatch door to pull to one side. Hatch door pulling to one side caused the door to rub on the tail light when opening and closing and door doesn’t not seal when shut. This issue was not caused by any foreign objects or accidents. The issue is available for inspection. The issue has been seen by a dealership. The issue has not been inspected by any other entities. The first sign of the issue occurred in January 2023 with visible evidence the door was pulling to one side. The issue has continued to worsen.

Hesitation on acceleration from slow or rolling stop. When I step on the gas it takes a while to respond also when you slow down and accelerate again it hesitates to go .This has been an ongoing issue. It started around 2500 miles. Vehicle only has around 4000 miles total.

Car randomly switches into different driving modes, BSM and anti collision goes off while driving. Seat warmers randomly come on high and can’t be turned off. Dealership identified water damage from leaking roof rack resulting in mold and electrical damage. Possible damage to airbags as water leaking into the pillar at front window. Many instances documented online.

I was recently driving my 2019 RAV4 when it started switching to mud and sand mode and turns of all my safety features. This would occur at random when I was parked and driving. I was able to find several discussion boards about this issue by searching ‘ 2019 rav4 switching to mud and sand mode.” I took it to the dealership and they discovered that there is a leak from the roof racks that is causing water to get in my car and is now impacting the driving ability and safety features on this car. I was able to find many discussion boards and even YouTube videos on how to fix this issue by searching “2019 rav4 roof rack leak.” It was reported in Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and the US. Many reported they had this issue fixed for free under warranty but now warranty has run out on the car and to fix the roof rack costs approximately $5000. Fixing the roof rack does not cover potential water damage that my airbags may have experienced as well and does not ensure there is not permanent water damage to the driving mode buttons

On January 17th 2023, I discovered a leak coming from the roof rack on the passenger side. The water leaked onto the passenger seat. When I brought this to the attention of my dealership, I was told that they did not handle these problems and sent me to an independent repair shop, where the roof rack was removed and an adhesive was applied to stop further leaks. I want this problem documented with Toyota, in case any further problems like this develop. I understand from other Toyota owners that this is not an uncommon problem with this model vehicle, and that these leaks can damage wiring and ultimately the airbags.

Vehicle has absolutely no safe way to hook up to tow. My wife got the car stuck in the snow and needed a tug out with a tow strap. The owners manual states that only some vehicle of this model are equipped with a towing eye. Mine is not, and from what i hear all subsequent year rav4 are not equipped. I crawled underneath the car front and back and dug snow out to find there is no place to hook to. No holes, frame members, nothing to put a hook on, a clevis around, or a loop of rope to loop to. All plastic and smooth sheet metal. I had to strap around one wheel and drag it fighting the allwheel drive system, against my owners manual instructions. How can this be that there is absolutely no recommended way to tow/recover this vehicle or secure it to a towtruck? I have heard stories of tow companies refusing to tow Rav4’s because of this.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated that she initially noticed that the headliner was stained and later realized that rainwater had leaked into the driver's and passenger's side front cabins from the roof rail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the failure was caused by a previous windshield replacement. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 15,000.

The contact owns a 2019 Toyota Rav4. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power and stalled with unknown warning lights illuminated and blinking. The contact stated that the steering wheel became very firm. The contact pulled over on the side of the roadway and turned off the vehicle. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to restart and was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that water enter the cabin of the vehicle through the roof rails and caused electrical damages to an unknown wiring harness connector. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and a case was filed; however, no additional assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 70,811.